New Life in a New World Ch. 01

I would like to give a huge thanks to ShadwNinjaX, author of the "Blazing Glory" series, for his inspiration and support with this. This may have never gotten off the ground without his help. Thank you!

[Insert lawyer voice here] This story contains scenes of graphic sex and violence. No one under the age of 18 or 21 (depending on your local law) should read this story. Any characters depicted in sexual or suggestive scenes are intended to be 18 years or older. While inspired from many sources, the story and characters are original. Any similarities are coincidental. Enjoy.

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"Young, watch that left side!" the Sergeant shouted.

Corporal John Young and his four man squad were almost finished clearing a remote village in the mountains of Afghanistan. They quickly moved through the village going door to door clearing each building. Their intel had warned them that this village would be full of Taliban fighters, however, they did not see a single soul since they arrived. The entire place was a ghost town, no one was to be found civilian or hostile. This put everyone on edge, either the intel was off or they were walking into an ambush. While John attempted to remain cautious, he knew they had a job to do and attempted to keep his mind on the task at hand.

John honestly didn't mind the danger too much. At age 16, John tragically lost his entire family. Practically without a family, when John turned 18 he enlisted in the US Army. John completed several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and eventually made his way into the Special Forces. At the end of this deployment John would be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Before leaving, John had submitted his application for Delta Force and was eagerly awaiting to hear if he had been accepted into the selection course. Now 26 years old, John wanted nothing more than to stay in the fight and on the front lines.

The squad continued to move through the village. All of them were highly trained and experienced, but John was most certainly the youngest. John was no body builder, but had a decently toned body for his five foot and eleven inch frame. His dark brown, nearly black hair was longer than most soldiers but still cut pretty short. He had a goatee on his chin that John tried to keep groomed. However, after going several days without shaving John was looking quite ragged. All of this matched well with his dark brown eyes.

John felt a slight ache in his shoulders and lower back. The backpack he had attached to his vest was starting to feel quite heavy. They had been advised to travel light but John had a habit of packing a few extra things. John had packed some extra ammo, explosives and even his dark grey fleece just in case they were going to move up higher in the mountains. While this may have been excessive, there had been a few occasions where those extras had saved their asses. John was able to shed some weight by removing the bullet proof kevlar insert in his vest. This was normally a big no-no and John would likely get his ass chewed out by his commander if he found out but John didn't care, kind of hard to be yelled at when your dead.

The squad finally reached one of the last huts they would need to clear before they could move on to the LZ for extraction. The hut was separated from the rest of the village, almost on the outskirts. They carefully scanned the tops of the buildings and the hillsides but could not see any movement. The continued to approach the hut.

"Alright, stack up and prepare to breach," ordered the Sergeant.

Two of the squad members moved to the left side of the door, pressing themselves against the wall. John and his Sergeant moved to the right side.

The Sergeant looked back at John, "Ok Young, you're up."

John nodded in acknowledgement and moved away from the wall and stood in front of the door. John took a deep breath and was just about to kick in the door when he heard a soft, electronic ringing from inside the hut.

"Is that a cell phone?" one of his squad mates asked with a look of confusion.

The Sergeant thought for a moment then suddenly his eyes opened wide with a horrific expression on his face.

"I.E....." the Sergeant did not get a chance to finish his sentence as the hut suddenly exploded. The Taliban had placed a trap for them in the form of an IED rigged to a cell phone so it could be remotely detonated.

John was thrown several feet back by the blast. While lucky that the concussion alone did not kill him, John felt the painful impact as pieces of wood, stone and metal shrapnel entered his midsection. John landed painfully on his back, he tried to get up but found himself unable to move. John's vision started fading out as he began to lose consciousness. When the ringing in his ears finally faded out, he could hear the exchange of gunfire and his squad mates yelling. John could hear his Sergeant calling for air support just before his world went black.

When John finally started to regain consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the silence. He no longer heard any gunfire or the shouting of his squad, instead he heard birds chirping and the sound of leaves rustling in a gentle breeze. John finally opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of a lush forest canopy. He felt the ground beneath him and instead of dirt, he grabbed a fistful of green grass. This was not Afghanistan, was he dead?

John tried to sit up when he felt an incredible sharp pain in his left side. He laid back down on the ground and placed his hand on his left torso. John could feel the wetness of the blood that had soaked through his shirt and could tell that he still was bleeding. He painfully rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself to his knees. As he looked down, he noticed his M4 rifle was on the ground next to him. John also realized he still had all of his gear on. John figured that if he still hurt like hell and still had his weapon, he was still alive.

John unbuckled his vest and took it off. He looked down and could see large holes in the shirt where the shrapnel tore through. His blood was clearly soaked though his dark brown shirt. John opened a pouch in his vest where he kept all his medical supplies, nothing special just bandages and some morphine. He grabbed a large sterile gauze pad and some gauze rolls. John winced as a sharp pain shot through his body when he pressed the pad to his wound. He quickly wrapped the gauze around his waist, trying to keep pressure on the pad and wound. John finally got used to the pain from the pressure, but it still hurt to move. John thought about giving himself some morphine to help cope with the pain but decided against it. With daylight fading, he would be wandering through the woods alone and needed to stay alert.

His bandaging was not great, but it would hold for now. John put his vest back on, tightening it a bit more than usual to help hold the bandages in place. He picked up his rifle and pulled back on the charging handle, making sure a round was ready to go in the chamber. With a groan, John managed to get himself to his feet. He stumbled briefly as he regained his footing. John knew this would be difficult, but had no other choice. He needed to find some form of civilization and get some real medical attention. John started walking west, toward the setting sun.

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The little red skinned imp flapped it's wings, staying above the forest canopy. He watched the unusual human make his way through the forest. By the way he was dressed, he could only assume the human was some kind of warrior. However, none of his weapons were recognizable. This human was certainly not from this land and no foreigner like this human had ever visited their lands before. He understood why his master was interested in this human. Earlier that day, his master felt an unusual presence enter their realm.

He watched the human struggle, he was beginning to succumb to his wounds. The imp had always been disgusted with how fragile humans were. The slightest pain or wound and they were useless. He understood why his master hated mortal beings so much. There was nothing the imp desired more than to send a fireball straight at the wounded human, it was always entertaining watching humans burst into flames. However, his instructions were to simply observe and to not intervene in any way. If he killed the human now, he would most certainly face his master's wrath and that terrified him to his very core.

He spotted movement not too far behind the human. Someone else was interested in this man as well. The imp could not see who it was at first, but eventually, he caught a glimpse of the follower through the trees.

"Well, isn't this interesting," the imp said quietly.

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The sun had finally set and the forest was now bathed in darkness. John was finding the terrain much more difficult to navigate and his injuries were making the task that much harder. The dark blue light of early evening seeping through the forest did contrast the trees from the rest of the forest allowing John some ability to navigate. This ounce of light eventually faded and the pitch black of night finally flooded the forest. John was forced to stop for a moment. He looked down at the black PEQ box attached to the front left side of his rifle. The PEQ box housed a laser sight and flashlight. John considered turning on the flashlight so he could navigate better. However, he decided that turning on a light source would make him easy to spot. John waited for a minute for his eyes to adjust to the point where he felt confident to continue moving.

Every step was starting to becoming more difficult. The pain from the wound was starting to spread through the rest of his body. John started to feel a bit dizzy, likely from the blood loss. John stopped for a brief moment and leaned against a nearby tree. He must have walked for at least several miles. His rifle started to feel heavier, only the vertical forward grip he had attached to the bottom of the rifle made it easier to hold. His body was getting fatigued and was demanding rest, but John refused. He forced himself to start walking again, he knew he needed to keep moving.

Just then he heard several growls behind him. He turned around and turned on the tactical light on his PEQ box. The light illuminated several sets of glowing eyes staring straight at him, a large wolf pack was approaching their wounded prey. John brought his rifle up and switched the fire selector from SAFE to SEMI. He slowly started to back away as the first wolf lunged for him. John fired two quick shots that echoed through the forest and stopped the first wolf in midair. John turned to the second wolf running toward him, fired another two shots and the wolf's lifeless body tumbled to a stop. He then tried to fire on a third wolf.

Click!

"God dammit!" John shouted, his M4 had jammed on him.

John quickly held the rifle sideways to attempt to block the third lunging wolf. But the wolf managed to sink it's teeth into John's forearm. John screamed in pain but felt lucky that the wolf had not managed to snap his arm in half. John slung his rifle to his side and used his now free hand to land a direct punch on the wolf's head. The hard shell over the knuckles of his gloves added to the impact and the wolf let go but not before taking some flesh with it.

John could feel the blood flowing freely from his left arm. He made sure he could still move his left hand then used his right hand to draw his M9 pistol from his thigh holster. He managed to get a few more shots off and take down a couple more wolves before he realized this was a losing battle as more wolves joined the fight. John made a break for it.

John ran as quickly through the woods as his wounded body would take him. At this point the adrenaline was in full control. John skidded to a stop as he came to the ledge of a large ravine. He estimated it to be about 75 feet down. He looked back at the wolves fast approaching him.

"Bones heal," John said to himself before leaping into the ravine.

John did his best to control his slide down the steep walls of the ravine, but he still fell too fast. When John hit the ground, he heard a loud snap as he felt the bones in his lower right leg break. John howled in pain as he landed hard on his back. Once the initial shock faded, John aimed his pistol at the top of the ravine. He struggled to keep his aim as he looked at the ridge above him. The wolves were at the top, looking down at him. However, the wolves did not have an easy way to get down to John so they eventually turned and left.

John breathed a small sigh of relief. He tried to stand back up but his body had given up on him. He had massive shrapnel wounds in his left torso, his left arm was ripped up and his right leg was broken. John had been shot, burned and blown up before, but this was pushing it even for him. A small voice within John was telling him to just give up. After all hadn't he been looking for the sweet release of death for nearly the last 10 years? John just never thought it would end like this.

He almost gave in until he heard the sound of a river at the end of the ravine. When he heard the sound of the rushing water, a new feeling of hope flooded him. A new voice inside him demanded he make one last effort for survival. If he continued to follow the river, he had a better chance of reaching a village or settlement. John worked to clear the jam in his rifle. He slapped the bottom of the magazine, making sure it was locked in place. He then pulled back on the charging handle, John could see the round eject from the rifle. He let go of the charging handle, letting the bolt slide back in place then pressed the forward assist on the side of the rifle. John pulled out the remaining gauze from his pouch and wrapped his arm. Even after he was finished, blood had already started to seep through the bandages.

John started clawing at the ravine walls, trying to grasp anything he could use for leverage. He managed to grab hold of a tree root and pulled himself up. He inadvertently tried to push himself up with his broken right leg, he winced in pain as he started to put his weight on the leg and nearly let go of the root. John quickly switched legs and managed to pull himself back up. John started to make his way toward the river, but only got about twenty feet before he collapsed to his knees.

The pain and blood loss had finally taken it's toll. No matter how much John commanded himself to keep moving, he couldn't. His strength started to leave his body and his vision was fading. He heard someone moving behind him. John attempted to reach for his pistol when he finally collapsed face first in the ground.

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It was no longer the dead of night when John finally awoke. The dark blue sky of early morning contrasted against the blackness of the still dark forest. John's eyes still felt heavy as he slowly opened them. He found himself sitting up against a tree. He looked up at the sky, stars slowly fading while being replaced by the morning sky. Once again, he had cheated death and was still alive. However, instead of felling relief or joy, John felt annoyed.

"You can't just let me die, can you?" John said out loud, as if speaking to God.

"If you wanted to die, you should have said so," replied an unknown female voice next to him. "Otherwise I would not have bothered to heal your wounds."

John's heart skipped a beat when he looked over at the beautiful young woman sitting next to the dying campfire. Looking at her stature, John estimated that she was probably three to four inches shorter than him. She was fair skinned but still had the right amount of color and looked silky smooth. Her breasts were not huge but not too petite, probably C cup sized, yet still a wonderful sight for the eyes. They were barely contained by the small white chestplate she wore that looked more like a bra than a piece of armor. Several black rectangular plates tied together made up a spaulder on her left shoulder, like a piece of samurai armor. What looked like a large, black fur hide covered her right shoulder. She wore a short, white leather skirt that showed off her well toned creamy thighs. Was that a tail just above her perfect ass? No, that's got to simply be part of her outfit. His eyes followed her legs until they disappeared into her knee high leather boots. He looked back up to her face, framed by her long white hair that flowed down to her lower back. She wore a red leather headband that displayed a brass inverted triangle with an amber jewel in the center. Her face was probably the most beautiful he had ever seen. While beautiful, the way those intense golden eyes glared at John made it clear that she was not someone to be trifled with. The katana she wore on her hip reaffirmed that. Then John noticed something unusual about her, a pair of pointed, wolf like ears emerged from the top of her head. They were covered in a short white and black striped fur. This did not detract from her overall beauty, but what was she?

John's shoulder started to feel sore, like it was twisted the wrong way. However, when he tried to move his arms he discovered his wrists were bound behind his back. John tried to break free, but he was only was greeted with more pain when he struggled. He also realized that he was no longer wearing his tactical gear or weapons. John looked over by the woman and saw his vest, rifle and thigh holster on the ground next to her.

"Why the hell am I tied up?" John demanded.

"You can at least thank me for healing you," she replied in an annoyed tone, "It was a lot of work considering the extent of your injuries."

John looked at his midsection and while his shirt was still stained with his blood, he had a fresh set of bandages wrapped around him. More importantly, he no longer felt any pain on his left side. John saw some bloodied metal pieces on the ground that was likely pulled out of him. While John could not see his left forearm, he could only assume that had fresh bandages as well. He looked down at his leg and saw a splint tied to his leg below the knee.

"Thank you," John said in a mockingly sincere voice, "Now untie me!"

"No!" the woman shouted, "Not until I take you back to my village where you will answer for trespassing on our lands and killing our kin."

Her kin? Was she referring to the wolves? John once again studied those animal like ears on the top of her head. No, that's impossible. She probably meant "kin" in a spiritual sense like the Native Americans.

"Are you kidding me!" John rolled his eyes. "First off, I don't know how I got here but I certainly don't want to be here and second, if you're referring to the wolves, it was your furry friends who fucked up my arm. So it was them or me, I had no other choice."

The woman quickly stood up, unsheathed her katana and moved toward him. In a swift motion, she swung her sword at his head but stopped short of cutting it off. She let the blade rest against his neck.

"If I was not under orders from my father to keep you alive, you would be dead already," her eyes narrowed clearly showing her anger.

John smirked, "Well, be sure to thank him for me."

"You can thank him yourself when you are before him and he decides what to do with you."

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The morning sun had risen to wash away the darkness. John was led out of the forest and into an open valley. He now had a much better view of the land. In the direction they were heading, East, John could see the valley end at a small village about five miles away where the tree line picked up again, wrapping itself around the valley. While John did not see any major elevation changes to the North, he did see massive snow capped mountains rise from the South and East.